A Hand-forged Soul
by TangQianHui
Summary: "No soul? Then I'll give you one!" With those words, Levy changes the course of a half-demon's life. Stuck in between worlds, Gajeel finds himself unwillingly dragged into the light and on the front lines of the war between exorcists and the demons they extinguish. Currently T for language, but rating may change in future.
1. Demon in the alley

**Hi all, welcome to _A Hand-forged Soul_ , my first fanfic in roughly an eon. Let me know what you think! Should I keep going with it?**

 **And of course, none of the characters are my own; all credit goes to Mashima Hiro.**

The master's study smelled vaguely of cigarettes and sage, and something else that always made Levy's head swim a bit. Over the years, she'd learned to ignore the dizzy sensation and focus on Makarov's words. While a kindly man, he didn't have the patience to explain things more than once. And for a man smaller than even the famously petite Levy McGarden, Makarov's temper had a pretty big impact.

"Remember, you're just needed to investigate. If this demon is as powerful as the rumors suggest, _do not engage_. Just get what information you can and bring it back to us," Makarov was saying, finally winding down on the briefing.

Behind the small girl, Jet and Droy stiffened slightly at Makarov's unintended slight. They were all part of Shadowgear, the guild's foremost intelligence gatherers. Honestly, Levy did most of that, with her formidable intellect and ability to go undetected. Her childhood friends provided the muscle to guard her brains, but every time Makarov told them not to fight was just a reminder that they were among the weaker exorcists gathered under Fairy Tail.

Levy bowed deeply, glaring under her short curtain of hair at her friends until they remembered their social graces and lowered their heads in deference as well. "Understood, Master. We'll find out everything we can and come back to you as soon as possible. You can count on us!" she said, smiling brightly at the old man.

"I trust you will, you three. But be careful, brats. Something's putting me on edge these days," Makarov muttered, short fingers drumming the dark wood of his desk.

Dismissed, the three Shadowgear members stepped out into the hallway, and looked at one another. Droy, a rotund and upbeat young man, had a look of slight concern on his round face. Jet's eyes were hard, still upset that he was once again being denied an opportunity to prove his strength as a fighter.

"Are you guys ready? It's just across town, I don't think we'll need much preparing," Levy said, cheerful as ever.

"Of course, Levy!" the two men chorused. As they took the stairs down to the ground level, they squabbled about who got to walk next to the blue-haired girl. Levy, for her part, only rolled her eyes good-naturedly and hopped down the stairs a few steps ahead of the duo, so that neither of them stood beside her. At the bottom, she turned, and grinned up at her friends.

"Let's do this!"

Eight hours later, it seemed that it was easier said than done. So far all Levy had found in the industrial area of Magnolia was a deep sense of unease, nothing quantifiable to report. It wasn't like Levy to be anxious, and she rubbed her hands over her elbows in an attempt to comfort herself. She'd always been a more than competent exorcist, her talent with words and wealth of knowledge helping her take down every foe she faced. But for the first time, Levy felt afraid. Like Makarov had said, there was something in the air. Something sinister that even a master of words like herself couldn't put a name to.

The shadows shifted, and Levy's breath caught in her throat. Every nerve on her body prickled. She wrinkled her nose, suddenly assaulted by the metallic stench of… blood? The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she turned her head frantically, looking for her companions.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" The voice sent shivers down her spine. It was cold, and cruel, and it belonged to a mammoth of a man standing suddenly below the lonely streetlight. His hair fell in a mane down his back, and even from her hiding place in the alley across the street Levy could see the glint of his sharp teeth. _Demon_.

Levy's hands clasped over her mouth, holding back the scream that almost leapt from her throat. The demon's fist was closed around Droy's collar, holding him up so that the chubby man couldn't hold his own balance. With a harsh laugh, the demon pulled back his other fist and drove it with incredible speed into Droy's gut. Levy winced. Droy couldn't even shout, the air gone from his body. He fell to the ground, retching, and the dark figure kicked out with his boot. Levy thought she could hear her friend's rib snap.

"Droy!" And there was Jet, appearing with the speed he was so known for, throwing a punch at the demon's face. The tall figure didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, his skin merely glinted like some tarnished metal, and Jet cried out in agony as his knuckles met an unmovable force. Savagely, the demon retaliated, his own fists beating again and again into Jet's frame.

Levy gasped, unable to help herself. But the metallic gleam of the demon's skin jogged a memory, and something clicked into place. She stepped out of the alley, knees trembling so that the action took an obscene amount of effort. " _Kurogane!_ Black steel Gajeel, stop what you're doing!"

His red eyes lifted, and met Levy's own, which were wide in unconcealed terror. "Who the fuck are you," he spat, more an insult than a question.

"I-I'm an exorcist of Fairy Tail! You n-need to stop! I can help you," the girl said, her trembling increasing as the demon closed the distance between them in a few strides.

Without warning, Levy was hoisted from the ground, Gajeel's fist on the front of her dress.

"A shrimp like you? Help _me_? Don't make me laugh!" he shouted, and struck her. Levy cried out at the pain blossoming in her body, and then again as his fist made contact again. She was on the ground now, the sequence of events unclear in her minded, which was growing cloudier by the second.

"Levyyyyy!" The wail came from Droy, who could somehow still muster his voice. "Don't you dare touch her!"

But Gajeel only laughed, and dragged her up by her mop of blue hair. Levy watched, detached, as her headband fell from her locks and fluttered to the ground. The fabric turned from a bright orange to black as it soaked in the puddle of blood. Until that moment, Levy hadn't registered that she was bleeding.

"I can! I can help!" Levy cried, and let the words tumble from her mouth as quickly as they could. While she talked, there was no more pain. At least he was listening. "Y-you're only a half-demon. I've heard of you. A-and that means you have a soul! We can help you. Fairy Tail can bring you back into the li-," but her words were cut off as he punched her viciously in the gut.

"A soul? You idiot. I don't have one of those. And I don't want one!" Gajeel shouted, his words punctuated by a laugh as harsh as a crow's cry. He dropped her to the ground, and Levy moaned as her body hit the pavement. His boots thudded as he crossed the street again, and continued mauling the male members of Shadowgear. A dark grin was on his face, joyless and cruel.

With the last of her strength, Levy put her hastily-assembled plan into motion.

"No- soul?" She muttered, the words coming out with difficulty and more than a little blood. "Then- I'll - _give you one_!" She traced the word in the mud, focusing in her mind until she felt them turn solid in the air before her. The letters glowed so brightly that they seemed to be just one orb of blinding light, and she pushed as hard as she could, watching with grim satisfaction as it flew into _kurogane_ 's chest. " _SOUL!"_ she screamed.

The last thing Levy saw before the darkness took her was Gajeel's eyes wide in shock.


	2. Aftermath

**Hi again! Welcome to Chapter 2. I don't love it, but I want to get on with the story and not keep everyone waiting. Please feel free to review or pm me suggestions!**

 **I don't own the source material.**

" _You again? Stay out of trouble, boy. What a waste of talent. The things that phantom lord makes you do… doesn't your soul ache?"_

" _Soul? Don't make me laugh. I don't have one of those. And I'm glad! They make you humans so pathetic."_

 _Belno shook her head, and gripped Gajeel's wrist hard with her wrinkly hand. "Someday, you brat, you'll understand what a life is worth. I just hope I live to see the day."_

The hag's voice rang in the half-demon's head as he stumbled down the street, one hand over his chest. The skin there felt as though it had been scalded, but his shirt showed no sign of damage. Whatever that little shrimp had done, it hadn't left any physical damage. Did she really have the power to create the force of her words? He'd never heard of a gift like that. But then, there were a thousand types of magic, and he wasn't familiar with the shit those exorcists used.

He hadn't even talked to one since Belno, owner of the nagging voice that sometimes tried (and failed) to act as his conscience.

Gajeel didn't know if she was even alive now; it had been more than a year since he'd last stumbled into the old bat. She'd tried to mother him, but in the end Jose had been more enticing, with his power and his acceptance of Gajeel's wild ways. For the first time in months, Gajeel thought of the old woman's sour, wrinkled face and the cold grip of her hand on his shoulder.

The sound of a bell dragged Gajeel from his uncomfortable reverie. The heavy thing pealed three times. It was late, then. No wonder the streets were empty; no one had bothered him in the blocks between here and the bloody street where he'd left the bodies of the damn exorcists.

Looking up, Gajeel realized why the bell sounded so loud: he was standing directly in front of Kardia Cathedral, one of Magnolia's famous landmarks. It had been an incredibly long time since he'd ventured so close to a holy building. Jose had warned him what happened to demons who crossed onto sacred ground. It burned them, and badly. He'd had nightmares of churches as a child, and even going near them was enough to make him nauseous as the ground rejected him.

There was no sickness now, no pain or dizziness. Only the cool night air on his fevered skin, and the massive doors before them. His legs moved without his mind consciously commanding them; his hand reached out and pushed the door open with swollen, bloody knuckles.

No one was in the building, not even a night guard or homeless wretch escaping the elements. The tall windows let in some moonlight, but other than that it was dark. Empty. Gajeel breathed in the still air, and slumped into a pew.

It was beginning to sink in that there were, so far, no ill effects of the sacred space. Gajeel was half expecting to burst into flames, but his skin felt no different than usual. Only his chest tingled, in the spot where the exorcist's magic had hit him.

He didn't pray. Even if he'd wanted to, Gajeel wouldn't have known how. There had been no one to teach him how to kneel, how to form the words. Only Metallicana, who'd never bothered with those things. And after that old bastard had vanished, just Jose, who wouldn't pray if a god had appeared before him and demanded it clear as day.

Instead he sat, the thoughts racing through his head. His skull felt oddly as cramped as the pew that his knees crushed against. As he stood, he reached his hand into his pocket, and drew out the phone. He'd finished dialing by the time he stepped through the door and back out into the silent night.

Levy woke to a steady beeping; something wrong with her phone, perhaps. She tried to move her arm to rub the sleep from her eyes and see what was wrong, but found that it wouldn't obey. A stinging sensation on the back of her hand and a twin one in the crook of her arm alerted her to the needles piercing into her bloodstream.

The small girl's eyes shot open, adrenaline flooding her system as the pain shocked her fully into consciousness. For a moment, Levy couldn't make out anything other than a blinding light, but as her eyes watered the room came more clearly into view.

She was in a standard white hospital room, with harsh fluorescent lights making all the colors even starker than normal. Her clothes were gone, replaced by a scratchy gown. How, exactly, had she ended up here? The last thing she remembered was…

Oh, right. The last thing Levy could remember was confronting the man called _kurogane_ in some muddy alley in the outskirts of the city. Had Jet or Droy carried her here? But no, hey had been in worse shape than her.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy's voice preceded her entry, followed moments later by the well-endowed blonde. Lucy threw herself at Levy, trying to hug any uninjured part of the blue-haired girl.

"Lu-chan! What's going on?"

"Do you not remember? Oh, no, Levy, I -," Lucy started, but Levy shook her head, regretting the action as it made her shoulder burn.

"I remember how I got like _this_ ," she said, nodding slightly at her battered form. "But I don't know how I got _here._ Was it one of my teammates? I passed out, and I thought they were too."

"Someone called emergency services. You've all been in the hospital since last night. Jet and Droy are already awake, asking after you. Master's got Mirajane filling out paperwork right now, so you can rest up in our infirmary back at the guild."

"Someone called…. Who?" Levy asked. A passerby, at that time of night?

"I don't know." Lucy shook her head, frowning an apology at her friend. "Master might, but he hasn't said anything to me."

"It's okay, I'm sure he'll tell me later. He's a busy man."

"Mmhmm!" Lucy voiced her agreement. "Anyway, Levy-chan, are you hungry? Thirsty? Anything I can get you?"

"Actually, Lu-chan, could you just read to me? I'm in the mood to hear where your story is going!"

The pretty blonde blushed deeply, but she wore a happily embarrassed smile on her face. "Okay, so, it's not polished up yet but here's what I've got so far…"

A few meters away, a miniscule man and beautiful young woman glanced at each other.

"I trust that I can rely on you, Mira, to get Levy and the boys back to the guild in one piece?"

"Of course, Master. But where are you going? It's not like you to leave when one of us is injured."

"This is important, my dear. I've got to bring someone to justice, and find a new recruit."

"Both, today?"

The old man looked up at the snow-haired woman beside him, an only slightly bitter smile on his leathery face. "Oh, but Mira, I never said I had two appointments."

Makarov turned and strode down the hallway, hands clasped behind his back. For someone so small, he emanated quite a lot of power. Mira's narrowed eyes followed him, the suspicious look out of places on her angelic face.

 **Rather short chapter again, I know. Oh well. Read and review, and let me know if you have any requests!**


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